Do I ship it?

Games › Inventory Management › Inventory Management + Psychological

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Psychological Inventory Management game?

Inventory Management + Psychological

Only 18 developers shipped a Psychological Inventory Management game in the last 2 years, too few for firm odds: the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.; the top game by est. revenue, Aurora Hills: Chapter 2, made about est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 53 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $360, ×0.8 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $50; 1 in 20 cleared $120k, ×269 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 53 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 0.8 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 53 announced, ×3.8 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Inventory Management + Psychological
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 18
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $5.7k → $2.1k → $282 → $89 (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Inventory Management + Psychological: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 18
Bottom 30% $0 (exactly $0)
Median $359 (exactly $359)
Top 25% $1.7k (exactly $1,678)
Top 5% $128k (exactly $127,760)
Developers, 2 yr 18
Released games 39
Announced 53
Effort 3 / 10
AI-buildability High
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 70% on the market, supply 250% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.

Inventory Management
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
Psychological
effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
Systems
Inventory Management; 5 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Exploration, Adventure, Puzzle
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $9.99 or above
Art
5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with First-Person, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $9.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 97% positive over 646 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $50, median $360, 1 in 4 over $1.6k, 1 in 20 over $120k.

3 in 10 developers made under $50. 53 games are announced against 14 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Inventory Management with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Job SimulatorStrong odds69 devs · median $15k · 62 announced
  2. + LGBTQ+Fair10 devs · median $17k · 13 announced
  3. + Roguelike DeckbuilderFair43 devs · median $12k · 47 announced
  4. + Artificial IntelligenceFair34 devs · median $11k · 44 announced
  5. + WargameFair21 devs · median $4.6k · 20 announced
  6. + Time ManagementFair181 devs · median $2.9k · 228 announced
  7. + DeckbuildingFair98 devs · median $2.5k · 137 announced
  8. + LogicFair70 devs · median $1.7k · 74 announced
  9. + Card GameFair65 devs · median $1.6k · 86 announced
  10. + Trading Card GameFair21 devs · median $1.5k · 28 announced
  11. + Puzzle PlatformerFair20 devs · median $1.1k · 26 announced
  12. + God GameFair16 devs · median $1.1k · 15 announced

All 164 pairs on the Inventory Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

DREDGE 2023 · $36M Graveyard Shift 2023 · $153k Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 2026 · $128k Left Alone 2016 · $124k TRAUMA Broken Paradise 2023 · $18k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
DREDGE older $24.99 47,624 95% 1.4M $36M (exactly $35,703,713) Black Salt Games
Graveyard Shift older $6.99 731 75% 22k $153k (exactly $153,291) Darkphobia Games
Aurora Hills: Chapter 2 $7.99 533 98% 16k $128k (exactly $127,760) NovaSoft Interactive Ltd.
Left Alone older $6.99 592 74% 18k $124k (exactly $124,142) SpeedTutor
TRAUMA Broken Paradise older $16.99 36 80% 1.1k $18k (exactly $18,349) OneManOnly Studios
Dystopian Pet Simulator · EA $5.99 49 93% 1.5k $8.8k (exactly $8,805) dinca.team
The Order of the Snake Scale older $8.99 29 72% 870 $7.8k (exactly $7,821) FM Simple Games Studio, Sons of Welder,… (FM Simple Games Studio, Sons of Welder, Acid Arrow Studio)
Scary Shadow Spot - Bitter Glass $9.99 26 100% 780 $7.8k (exactly $7,792) Daniele Doesn't Matter
Vaccine Rebirth older $6.99 27 77% 810 $5.7k (exactly $5,662) Rainy Night Creations
Ghostist older $4.99 32 93% 960 $4.8k (exactly $4,790) taxicomics
Housekeeper: Anomaly $5.99 14 100% 420 $2.5k (exactly $2,516) Alex Grim
DOMUS ABSCONDITA $7.99 7 57% 210 $1.7k (exactly $1,678) Elmeryn Studios
Carrot Cake $4.99 6 83% 180 $898 (exactly $898) Luna Apps
Bloodright $6.99 3 66% 90 $629 (exactly $629) OcO
Striatum $5.99 2 100% 60 $359 (exactly $359) Compact Qualia
Cursed Presence $5.99 2 100% 60 $359 (exactly $359) Francisco Aguilar Montoya
Dead Frequency $2.35 4 75% 120 $282 (exactly $282) Reverse Revelation

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.